China Weighs in on Japan’s Election

Hours before the polls in Japan’s general elections closed, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, was already airing its dissatisfaction with the way things were going.

Phred Dvorak/The Wall Street Journal

Supporters of Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe wait for him to give the final speech of his campaign, at a rally in Tokyo’s Akihabara district on Dec. 16. The rally had a strongly nationalistic flavor.

Xinhua’s commentary, published Sunday under the name Huang Yinjiazi, warned about a trend of nationalism among Japan’s politicians that could worsen ties with neighbors, threatening economic relationships and regional stability.

“It is a troubling sign that some of the political parties vying for the 480 seats of Japan’s lower house of the parliament have pledged to take a tough stance on territorial disputes and boost military spending to woo rightist voters,” the commentator wrote.

The Xinhua commentary singled out Shinzo Abe, the leader of the front-running Liberal Democratic Party, and likely next prime minister. Mr. Abe has criticized the current Democratic Party of Japan-led government for being weak in responding to China’s moves, and has vowed to take a harder line should he become prime minister.

Mr. Abe has also tweaked China and other countries around the region by paying respects to Japan’s war dead at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where World War II soldiers -– including those accused of war crimes — are memorialized, though he has not yet said whether he would visit as prime minister.

“PM-hopeful Shinzo Abe have [sic] paid two visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which honored WWII war criminals,” the commentary said. “These moves have raised suspicions among Japan’s neighbors. They also pose a risk to regional peace and stability.”

Aside from foreign relations, Xinhua’s commentator even had some advice for what Japan’s new leaders need to focus on at home.

“For Japan’s new leadership, it is of more urgency for them to save the Japanese economy, which has been plagued by decades of deflation and in its fourth recession since 2000, than pick fights with its neighbors.”

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